Over the years I've talked to many people from many backgrounds and different walks of life. Some of these people I've loved, some I quickly said goodbye to, and still others who made me ashamed to be part of the same species.

But no matter what, there is always one thing that everyone seems to have in common: They hate being labeled.

It doesn't matter who they are or what they do, they just can't stand being labeled. They act like by accepting a label, they're selling themselves into slavery.

The only time I can think this to actually be the truth is when they themselves pick out their own label and live up to their perception of it, no matter how inconvenient.

What I'm talking about is the that labels other people give them, such as jock, or nerd or, god forbid, 'normal'.

Do any of You have this same distaste for being labeled?

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There is no meaning to life, no purpose, no reason for existence, and nothing matters. What better reason for debauchery and indulgence could there be?

There was a time when I dropped all labels off of myself and decided I would just be me. However, nowadays this is still true but now I let people label me whatever they see fit and not detest to their image of myself. If they view me as goth, morbid, misanthropic, suicidal, or whatever, objectively all that matters is how I view myself. On a side note concerning Lesser Magic or manipulation, by living up to their label of how they view me, I can gain much from the situation if I desire.

"If the shoe fits, wear it." I have no problem with certain kinds of labels. I call myself a Satanist. I call myself a liberal. I call myself a male. I make of these labels what I want; they're devices for me to use to express myself, not constraints. Sometimes it's a matter of just being honest about your own situation; I won't pretend I'm something I'm not, and I won't pretend I'm NOT something I basically am. But it's also a matter of using abstract ideas to focus my interests and to express myself.

I figure, if you're not willing to label yourself in some areas, people will be all too willing to do the job for you. (Of course, this can be amusing at times--I get a big kick out of having people try to guess either my political leanings of religious affiliation.)

I also agree with Reprobate that if the shoe fits, you might as well wear it, and wear it with honor and with pride.

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"Gentlemen, the verdict is guilty, on all ten counts of first-degree stupidity. The penalty phase will now begin."--Divine, "Pink Flamingos."

Talking of labels, and whether Satanists should be bothered to defend labels that they put upon themselves to others, even fellow Satanists...

How would you define your use of the word "liberal" in this instance?

I'm always happy to explain my views to anyone who's genuinely interested. To answer your question, I can put it no better than John Stuart Mill does in his famous essay "On liberty", but suffice it here to say:

Liberalism is a political philosophy which maintains that the proper sphere of government is to protect the individual's freedom to pursue his own conception of the good. Liberalism means there's a presumption against controlling people's actions; but the presumption can be defeated when the action in question demonstrably interferes with or tramples upon other individuals' respective pursuits of their own conceptions of the good. In that case, the state can hold the individual accountable for his actions. The individual also gets to have some say on the matter of who is to decide whether his actions interfere with the liberty of others.

Historically, liberals endorse democratic government, professional and streamlined civil service, and generally free market economic policies, with judicious interventions to promote legitimate state interests (eg. public health). More generally, liberals promote awareness of how the actions of individuals can impinge upon the sphere of others' liberty in ways that aren't always obvious (the privileges men have that women don't, for example, or the privileges whites have that people of color don't, etc.). Policy criticism always focuses on the issue of whether individuals have reasonable opportunities to make their own choices and chart their own path through life.

Mill's is the classical and definitive statement of liberalism. There were important precursors who anticipated many of his ideas, and there were later developments that are more or less faithful to his statement. But if you ask what I, personally, mean by liberalism, I appeal to Mill.

When I was a teenager, I didn't really like being labeled, but now I really don't mind at all. One label that has been bestowed upon me is the label crazy person (in a positive funny way, not in the straight jacket variety), by my friends and colleagues, because I always make weird jokes and remarks according to them. All I can say when they say I'm crazy, is that I'm darn proud of it too!

There isn't anything wrong with labels, as long as I get the right label. It would be weird if someone labeled me a slut when the last time I slept with someone was uhm.. two years ago?

Edit: Come to think of it, being called a slut could actually be a compliment because people would think I am very sexually active

Edited by Sakura (10/01/1010:27 PM)

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"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked."Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.""How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice."You must be," said the Cat, "otherwise you wouldn't have come here."Alice didn't think that proved it at all: however she went on. "And how do you know that you're mad?""To begin with," said the Cat, "a dog's not mad. You grant that?""I suppose so," said Alice."Well, then, " the Cat went on, "you see a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad."

There were ups and downs. All the downs came from ignorance. The first label ever applied to me was "Nerd". As I was raised to respect intelligence above all, it was complimentary. The second label, more forcefully applied, was "Freak". I didn't understand this one at first and there weren't as many perks. If you get labeled a nerd, people know you're smart and socially inept, which were both good things to me given the social field of 5th grade. Freaks are generally made fun of and picked on, and I was too young to know what to do with that.

Both labels have followed me to this day, but that's by choice. I've finally arrived in a world where the nerd is a valued and well paid (See Social Network for details) and I stick to a far superior social spectrum than that I was first labeled in. My friends are those who value intelligence and mock the common social realm because they see it for the animal origins it never truly outgrew.

Freak again, is different. In college it was a nasty label I wanted to get rid of at great cost, yet couldn't. Freaks don't get laid. Or so I thought. I knew most aspects of Satanism by heart without ever having been taught them, but the few I did have to learn from the source were real whoppers. Namely, alien (What kids call Freak) and elite are not mutually exclusive, quite the opposite. Freak can have many connotations. It can mean some dismal monster that smells terrible and hates everything, to be hated by everything. If one is to hear their label and take it at face value, they might start to act like they're expected. Being labeled a freak can turn a weak mind into the worst sort of freak.

The Satanic mind generally indulges a different option- Use the label. Twist it. Own it and once you do, you can throw it away in favor of any label you'd prefer to wear (Because have no illusions, you always wear a label, you always play the game no matter how hard you try to quit). But to a magician skilled in lesser magic, each label however attained is a new toy.

They call you a freak and the game begins. Step 1 is to figure out exactly what that means. Why do they call you that? Is it because you're ugly? Talk strangely about strange things? Dress dark? Have a third arm growing out of your ear? Once you know you move on to step 2- Use it or lose it. The balance factor is killer here, you aren't going to lose the freak label as long as you have that 3rd arm. So if you want the label, learn to juggle with the extra arm, if you don't, find a surgeon. Study how people talk and mimic for normality, or have more fun and make every obscure comment you see fit to encourage the label. Once you have the label you want, step 3- Use it.

Being called a Freak was the bane of my youthful life. If only I'd know then that freaks and nerds can get laid, can get rich, can get popular, and most importantly, can cease to be freaks and be anything they like at will. They just do it all with the freaky crowd instead of the pop-crowd it naturally repels. It's like a corpse flower: It stinks to high heaven and most people will run from the scent. But flies, which the flower loves to eat, enjoy the odor. Your label is that perfume if you use it right, to attract a hot smart goth chick and repel the ditzy cheerleader. If you want the opposite, remove the ear-arm. Talk about Britney Spears instead of Bukowski. Some old moralists might tell you its wrong to fake being something you're not. Fuck that shit. You are whatever you want to be, and if you play somehting else to get what you want, good for you. Just mind the flying toaster she throws if she finds out.

Remember that no matter what you wear or don't wear, however you speak of stay silent, people will try to read it and figure out what you are from it. It will never end, not after your death- They will read your tombstone and condemn or praise what's on it. So study, master the game, and play well. Label Phobia? Might as well fear existence.

This has been your weekly performance of "Delta Paraphrases Satanic Witch". If you do have labelphobia be sure to read that book, it's the user's manual for the self you show the world.

Bravo Delta! That was the most intriguing and applicable read I've had in a while, even if I already did the aforementioned steps to an extent.

I haven't personally had someone tell me I'm a freak, do mostly to the fact that they were afraid of what this freak might do to them if they crossed me.

I tried to be popular for less then a year, in 6th grade. After a while of that failing miserably I said fuck it, and found the 4 other kids who were similar to me. I consider that year to be the true start of my Satanic emergence.

Now days I relish in my freakiness even more. The way I look at it is thus: The kind of people I don't want talking to me are the ones who are scared off. The kind of people I do want talking to me are those who are intrigued, or better yet, are like me.

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There is no meaning to life, no purpose, no reason for existence, and nothing matters. What better reason for debauchery and indulgence could there be?

I think a certain "label-phobia" is natural insofar that none of us monkeys like to be misunderstood (even though this is probably unavoidable) and we find it a little offensive to be judged by people who have no idea who we are and how we think and feel, etc.

This is where Lesser Magic is such a brilliant strategy. But it does take some training to undo the afore mentioned natural tendency to take offence at "being eyeballed" in that particular way... especally by people you don't think very highly of... however, I am of the opinion that your lesser magic can only be as good as your ability to detach from whatever emotions other people have the power to install in you through their words and actions.

If you play this game right you can to a great extent play the psychological complex of prejudice and stereotyping like it was a musical instrument. When you master this art you can make people love you or hate you at will, simply by playing on their "narrative" (their scripted sense of reality). It means a turning of the tables - in that you know people will judge you anyway so why not use that to your advantage rather than indulge in Quixotic protests against it?

No, I can't say that I myself have. But to echo Witch Gausten, I do have a distaste for the compulsive I-can't-be-labeled types. The tragic irony is that they turn "no label" into a label that they must cling to at all costs. There's nothing superior about conforming to non-conformity.

Musicians are especially notorious for this. "Oh, our music simply can't be categorized!" Gee, talk about counter-productive pride when it comes to marketing and making a living off your art. Reminds me of this bit from comedian Todd Barry:

I was talking to a woman who said she manages bands. So I said, "What's the band sound like?" You know, just to torture her a little bit. She said, "Oh! Man! I can't -- I don't even know if I can describe it, man!" "Yeah? Give it a whirl." "Well, the band sounds like a combination of Weezer, Green Day, and Buddy Holly.""Oh. So they sound like Weezer."

Originally Posted By: Hatred_Incarnate

I tried to be popular for less then a year, in 6th grade.

I've always thought that the term "popular" was a misnomer when it came to school cliques. "Unpopular" students are typically well-known by the status quo.

I don't mind labels. They are convenient. Sometimes when you are describing people to others it's just easier to use that broad stroke and then fill in the details later. I don't feel like people would use labels that didn't fit me to some degree. There have been times where I had to step back from myself and examine why certain people were labeling me certain ways. It was a learning experience.